Guest Editorial Week of 6/29/20

Corps’s challenges will be met, retiring commander says

District Commander
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District

The mission of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is to deliver engineering solutions for the nation’s toughest challenges, and that is exactly what USACE Buffalo District has been doing and will continue to do for the lower watershed of lakes Erie and Ontario.
As I prepare to hand over command of the District to LTC Eli Adams, I am confident that Buffalo District’s unique capabilities will offer innovative solutions for Great Lakes Navigation Support, Coastal Engineering, Hazardous, Toxic, & Radioactive Waste Remediation.
Great Lakes Navigation Support is one of the Corps of Engineer’s oldest missions, but continues to evolve. The beneficial use of dredged material project at Unity Island, Buffalo, N.Y. proved that dredged material could be used to build an ecosystem and showed partners that dredged material can be viewed as a commodity. Partners across the harbors need to come together, bring what resources they have, and develop long-term solutions for dredged material management.
Aging infrastructure is the other challenge the Great Lakes harbors are facing. It is a critical time to invest in infrastructure to ensure navigation can continue, directly supporting the nation’s economy, and acts as the first line of shoreline protection for shoreline communities.
The recent high water events across the Great Lakes has shown us how vulnerable the shoreline is and that a good coastal resiliency plan is the only way to prevent shoreline impacts from the extreme events. The Corps of Engineers continues to push for and is ready to lead a Great Lakes wide coastal resiliency study. This study would identify vulnerable coastal areas and recommend actions to bolster the coastal resources’ ability to withstand, recover from and adapt to future hydrologic uncertainty with respect to the built and natural coastal environments.
Protecting human health and the environment has long been the mission of the Formally Utilized Remedial Action Program, through the cleanup of Manhattan Project sites across the U.S. In the coming years, it is expected that this program will become an even larger part of Buffalo District’s mission with the undertaking of cleanup at the Niagara Falls Storage Site, to name just one. These sites are complex and will require detailed planning, and technical resources to ensure work will be done safely and efficiently.
The Buffalo District is taking bold organizational actions today that will improve performance and project delivery tomorrow; ensuring projects and programs perform well into the future and provide improved economic returns. These projects are not done alone, and our many local, state, and federal partners contribute to mission success.
I have been proud to serve as the USACE Buffalo District Commander, and am confident that the Buffalo District will continue to serve the Nation for years to come.
More information on the Buffalo District’s mission can be found on the web https://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/, or on social media, https://www.facebook.com/BuffaloDistrict or https://twitter.com/USACE_Buffalo